The Benefit of Memory
by Grace.And.War
Summary: The future is dark. War threatens destruction. But before it all began, a lonely girl dreams it all. Her knowledge gives her purpose. A mission. Protect her brother. Create the best possible future for Konoha. AU. Major OC. Naruto has a long lost sister. Rewrite fic. Ships: Team 7. Konoha 12. SasukeOC, NaruHina, SakuraItachi. Minor pairings: NejiTen, ChoujiIno, ShikaTem and others.
1. Prologue

Hi guys. SO I'm finally posting this. Its a pretty short prologue but the first chapter will be posted within this week. (: Please, please review.

* * *

It was early dawn in fire country and the Hidden Village of Konohagakure no Sato was about to receive a few very important visitors. At the moment however, the village, more akin to a city, was asleep and for the most part, utterly silent. Well, the civilian population, atleast. But Konoha was a shinobi village and the covert nature of the ninja profession, by definition, ensured that there was always, always something going on behind the scenes. Or underneath the underneath.

And at the grand gates of Konoha, where this story starts, two very familiar chunin standing guard.

"Kotetsu!" one snapped quietly in the dark. "Stay alert. What if missing-nin attack Konoha and you snooze away the whole thing like an academy gaki?"

His wide yawn inaudible, Kotetsu responded lazily. "Urusai, Izumo-kun missing-nin would hardly walk through the front gates now would they? Nothing quite so exciting ever happens here. Probably never wi…" He stopped short and straightend abruptly, cocking an ear towards the darkness in front of him.

"Did you hear that?" he asked, in the quietest of whispers.

"Yeah..." Both ninja were now tense, all of their senses on alert.

"And you were saying?" Izumo drawled, after a moment. Kotetsu scowled slightly, eyes still searching.

"Okay shut up now. They're almost here. I sense just two signatures. Unknown. 40 degrees east."

Moments later, with a soundless poof, two figures appeared in front of Kotetsu and Izumo. The taller of the two is a women with bright red hair peeking out of her hood. A gloved hand was extending a sheaf of papers. Kotetsu exchanged a curiously wary glance with Izumo before accepting the eyes widened comically as he scanned them quickly and passing them to Izumo, observed an identical reaction.

With a nervous lilt to his voice, Izumo speaks. "Welcome to Konoha, Kurobara-sama, Kurobara-sama." Both bowed deeply before the two figures. The woman nodded her head in acknowledgement, but the shorter figure, a young girl of 12, according to her identification, shifted and spoke up.

"Hey! There's no need to be so formal Izumo-san. I haven't earned that sort of respect quite just yet. My name is Reimei. Rei-mei. Please use it." The girl's only visible features were her bouncy brown hair and her large brown eyes. The rest of her face was obscured by the neck of her cloak. And even unseen, it was obvious she was smiling.

Izumo and Kotetsu, thoroughly stupefied, could only stutter away the moment like leaf-green academy gaki's.

"H-Hai, Rei-mei-san."

Amusement sparked on the older woman's face for a moment.

"Okay, Rei-chan, we have to go ahead. Hokage-sama is expecting us."

Reimei's eyes were sparkling. "Aww, I can't wait to see the old man! Arigato, Izumo-san, Kotetsu-san. I'm sure we'll meet again. Ja matane!"

With that, the two females flew by them, disappearing into the shadows as quickly as they had appeared. Izumo and Kotetsu watched them go, unable to do anything else.

"Kurobara?! That's the clan with the powerful blood limit that everybody knows exists, yet no one know actually what is, right?" Kotetsu questioned finally, still staring into the darkness.

"Yeah, but I thought they had all died out…"

"Well, atleast things are going to be interesting around here."

"Yeah," Izumo whispers faintly. "Such powerful signatures…"

"Yeah, scary. They weren't even trying to hide them. I understand now why they used to be called Konoha royalty. Keh, whatever." He scoffed. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Kotetsu!"

"Urusai."

Izumo suddenly stiffened. He jerked Kotetsu around by the shoulder, "Wait….h-how did she know our names!?"

Realization dawned on Kotetsu's face in slow moment of shock and he stared back at Izumo, mouth open.

"Umm…"


	2. The Beginning of the Beginning

Here is Chapter 1. A little later than promised but here all the same. (: Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 1

As usual, Uzumaki Naruto was causing trouble. This time, one only had to glance up to see the graphitised Hokage Mountain, the result of Uzumaki's latest harebrained prank. Also, as usual, Naruto's admittedly impressive attempts to escape reprimand were thwarted by his favourite and most feared Academy teacher, Iruka-sensei.

Five minutes later, Naruto, his hands tied behind him, face slumped in an exaggerated sulk, was being lectured in front of the whole class by Iruka-sensei. Naruto was desperately trying not to focus on his sensei's ranting or on all of his classmates laughter aimed right at him. So of course, Naruto noticed an oddity he would have not otherwise. There was somebody in the room, not laughing or smirking at him. Someone with a rather sad expression on their face. Someone he had never seen before. So amid all the laughter, in true Naruto fashion, he asked his sensei loudly, "Hey, IRUKA-SENSEI, who's that?"

"Oi Naruto don't point! It's rude," Sakura screeched from her perch at her beloved Sasuke-kun's side.

"It's okay." The class quieted, hearing the unfamiliar voice. Naruto could now see the person who had caught his attention clearly. It was a girl. A rather pretty one at that. She was seated near the wall, halfway up the classroom. Naruto saw, long, wavy, waist-length hair and clear blue eyes.

"My name is Reimei, it's nice to meet you Naruto-san."

For once in his life, Naruto didn't know what to say. He was frozen. And it wasn't because the strange girl named Reimei had so abruptly changed her expression of quiet, suffering sadness to over exaggerated cheeriness. Oh no, Naruto forgot about this as soon as he perceived it. Naruto was frozen in surprise because no one had ever smiled at him quite like that. With so much warmth and happiness and dare he think it, friendliness.

But the moment was gone so soon, Naruto instinctively decided that he had imagined it.

"Reimei-chan will be joining us for the Genin examination. Let's welcome her properly." The class chanted out a greeting.

And on went the lesson.

* * *

Among the chirping of the birds and half empty streets, a small figure was walking towards the Academy lost in thought. Today was the day of the Genin examinations.

Reimei could scarcely believe all that had happened in the last two days. Their long talk with the Hokage had been extremely stressful. The decision to tell him their plans was one that Reimei had struggled with for a long time. But she was immensely relieved now that they had. Now, someone else knew about the enormous burden hanging over her head.

He'd given them a home too. Her father's deserted estate.

Reimei couldn't help but grin at the memory. The old man had ordered them an escort to their new residence. The chunin in question had almost fainted when he'd learned where he was to take them.

Then he'd let them go, with a heavy sigh and numerous precious scrolls and one priceless one, labelling them as his contribution to her carefully crafted future.

"The future…" Reimei whispered to herself. The smile on her face faded away slowly.

Today, she would become a ninja of Konoha. Tomorrow her self-appointed mission would truly begin. The future… She would make the future right. The way it should have been.

She felt strength of that resolution reaffirm itself in every fibre of her being.

With several, similar vague thoughts flitting around her mind, Reimei realized she was approaching the Academy. Usually Reimei preferred being right on time for any appointment, but this time, she was early. She'd done it on purpose. A little extra prep before a long, hard mission never hurt anyone.

She entered the classroom, immediately spotting a slouching Shikamaru and by his side, Chouji who was unsurprisingly devouring a bag of chips.

Sasuke was present as well, sitting in his usual seat, with the exact same pose he always made. Gosh that boy had horrible posture. He was guaranteed to have a bad back when he was older. Reimei managed to suppress the amusement from showing on her face. She sighed instead. "I'm so lame…"

There were also a number of other classmates present, most who Reimei had never learned the names of. She had many plans for this mission. She'd been planning for years and years after all.

Sasuke was one of the most important factors in her plans. Infact, just under half of the people that were essential to her mission would be gathered in this room in the next few minutes. And she couldn't wait until it all started to come together. She was so close. So close.

All the foundations were set. All the plans were in place. All that was left was the execution. All that was left was to set things in motion. And the rewards, of course. Oh, the rewards.

* * *

He had failed. Again.

Naruto could not even muster up the courage to put on his usual fake smile. So, there he sat, on the swing across from the Academy and gazing dejectedly at all his happy classmates celebrating their new ninja status. They were with their families too. The final nail in his coffin. He sighed, slumping further in his seat.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto turned his head slowly. "Mizuki-sensei…"

* * *

"I want to go over there and rip his head from his shoulders. Can I?"

Reimei replied without turning her eyes away from two figures not far away. "I do too. But… this has to happen. You know that."

Her aunt sighed, sadness emanating from every line on her face. "I know. Its just hard to see him being taken advantage of this way. So alone. And we're right here. Right…here."

Reimei said nothing for a moment, taking a second to make sure her voice wouldn't tremble.

"Just a little while longer and he'll…we'll all be fine."

Reimei and her aunt watched the two figures for a few moments, heedless of the people celebrating around them.

Eventually, Reimei felt a prickling sensation that signified somebody else's eyes on her. Fingering the headband that was wrapped below the crease of her elbow, Reimei swept a deliberately casual glance around the crowd. At the very edge of her periphery, she caught the gaze of Nara Shikamaru focused on her profile. He was studying her. In the same moment, his eyes flicked back and forth between Reimei and the direction she and her aunt had been facing for the last little while.

_'Oh shit.'_

She made the decision with half a second's consideration. Turning, she met his gaze fully. She could tell he was startled. Shikamaru was only twelve,but Reimei was fully aware of his unnaturally high IQ. And he was lazy, yes, but he was also observant. Perhaps, the fact that people counted him out because of his attitude was one of the reasons he saw so much of the world around him... Reimei doubted he did it on purpose. After all, pretending to be thaaat lazy would be far too troublesome. But it was obvious he took advantage of it whenever it suited him. For now to be such a time was dangerous…to Reimei's mission. So they stared at each other, a languid, questioning eyebrow raised on one face and an impassive expression on the other.

Then Shikamaru was glomped by his mother.

An amused grin split her face and Reimei decided to take the chance given to her. She tugged on sleeve of her aunt's shirt. "Let's go, Aunt Minako."

Her aunt nodded reluctantly, tearing her gaze away.

When Shikamaru glanced back, Reimei and her aunt were gone, as were Naruto and Mizuki-sensei. He sighed in annoyance. It would be really troublesome, but something told him that this might be worth figuring out.

Reimei's purpose in Konoha was questionable. He had to find out more about her. What did she have to do with Naruto?

Who the hell was she?

* * *

Tension was coiled in every muscle of Reimei's body as she leapt from tree to tree. Only a minute amount of awareness was centered on herself, the rest entirely directed to the three people just a little distance ahead of her. Coming to stop, Reimei crouched down on a tree branch just at the edge of the clearing and still herself completely. She checked for the third time that every aspect of her presence was masked. Her body, her chakra and her mental presence. Satisfied that no one below high jounin level sensory skills would be able to detect her without her permission, she refocused. This was a skill she had perfected for years and years.

All her senses directed to the clearing beyond, Reimei watched the confrontation between Naruto, Iruka and Mizuki, her emotions roiling violently behind the impenetrable wall of control in her mind.

As Mizuki flung the supersized shruriken towards Naruto, Reimei unfurled a tendril of her chakra, taking less than half a moment to make it invisible and undetectable, and moved it forward at a lightening pace, attaching it to every square inch of the fuuma shuriken. It formed a thin, yet dense layer of skin, so to speak.

The shuriken entered Iruka's flesh at exactly the moment she had expected it to, and the chakra that she had applied to it greatly diminished the damage that it caused as subtly as it was possible for it to do so.

As she watched the events that transpired next, witnessing them in reality for the first time, the affection she felt for Iruka reaffirmed itself and her uniform belief in Naruto grew.

She waited, keeping entirely still, until Naruto's clones were pounding Mizuki into the ground and sent in her own henged clone to do some extra, _long-lasting_ damage. Mizuki would not be able to make any escape attempts in the near future.

Sadistic satisfaction aside Reimei's work was done. She left Naruto and Iruka together and backed out of the clearing, turning towards home. As she exited the forest and began to fly over rooftops, Reimei began thinking about the next day. Her hands clenched in excitement for a brief moment. Tomorrow was going to be a really good day. It was team assignment day and she was finally going to talk to Naruto for real. She couldn't wait.

Tomorrow arrived quicker than anybody anticipated and Reimei was waiting in the empty street beside the Academy. Peering around the corner, she saw two students enter the Academy. The final bell was about to ring and the only people that still had to get to class were Reimei and two shrieking fan girls that were at that precise moment, speeding down the road, shoving each other continuously. Reimei quickly darted from her spot and landed in front of the Academy gates. Forming a few quick hand signs over the scroll she had lain on the ground at her feet, she grabbed the specially prepared jar of …adhesive and covered a good portion of the gates with it. Grinning deviously, she sealed the jar back into the scroll and stepped through the gates, carefully closing them behind her. With one last look at the cloud of pink and blonde rushing towards the gates, she slipped inside the building. Sakura and Ino were going to be late today.

* * *

Naruto had arrived at the Academy with a large and more importantly, genuine, grin on his face. Nothing would dampen his spirits today. He wasn't going to dwell on yesterday's revelations, nor think about Mizuki-teme-sensei. He wouldn't even feel bad if Sakura rejected him. Yup. Nothing in the world would bring him down.

He proudly displayed his head band to an incredulous Shikamaru, and then continued to strut up the rows to his own seat. He was a ninja. He waaas a ninja! Nothing could break this bubble. Nothin—

Of course, nothing expect for the presence of Sasuke Uchiha.

Naruto glared right back at Sasuke as he sat down. Stupid, cool Uchiha. He vowed right then and there to himself. One day, he would have his own fan club. And it would be three times the size of Sasuke-teme's. Believe it.

He sat there fuming and determined until a smooth voice interrupted the direction of his thoughts.

"Uzumaki-san, can I sit here?" It was the new girl from the day before. Naruto stared in surprise for a moment before a wide grin split his face, his previous ire at Sasuke, completely forgotten for the moment.

"Sure! Rei-Rei...".

"Reimei. My name is Reimei." The girl said, just as chirpily as him, easing past him and flopping down between him and Sasuke. "It's nice to meet you, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto was slightly puzzled at the odd mix of formality, respect and the fact that a girl actually wanted to sit next to him.

"Um, Reimei-chan, you can call me Naruto!"

"Okay!" They directed identical grins at each other.

"Naruto-kun, that prank with the Hokage Mountain was awesome! How did you manage to evade all the ANBU and jounin chasing after you?" Reimei asked, wide grin still affixed on her face.

Naruto's thoughts whirled in a tornado of happiness, surprise and a smattering of desperate hope.

"It's a prank master's secret Reimei-chan! I can't tell you!"

"Would you tell me if I agree to become your friend? Naruto nodded automatically in amazement. "You… like pranks too Reimei-chan?"

"Of course! It's my second most favourite thing to do." She leaned in and lowered her voice telling him all about what she had done just before walking into class.

Naruto couldn't help but stare in wide-eyed shock after she had finished.

"You super glued Sakura-chan and Ino-chan to the Academy gates?! That's AWESOME!" Reimei giggled loudly.

"Yup!"

"QUIET DOWN!" Iruka-sensei's voice interrupted their conversation and made them both jump in their seats. Sharing one last grin, thetwo turned to face their sensei.

"Starting today, you are all real shinobi… but you are still Genin. The hard journey that lies ahead had just started…"

Reimei smiled softly as she witnessed Naruto pay rapt attention to Iruka's words. It was a joy to be near him. His energy was contagious and it was impossible to suffer any sort of melancholy emotion around him. Reimei could feel a sense of peace surround her. Glancing over at Sasuke sitting stiffly beside her, she smiled again, for once the wary, sadness that usually overcame her when she thought of the Uchiha was absent.

It was not thirty seconds later that Iruka was interrupted by an irate Ino and Sakura, as they stumbled into the classroom, small tears all over their clothing. Reimei laughed along with the rest of the class as Iruka shouted at them, but she was impressed that they had managed to free themselves a full three minutes before the glue was supposed to have dissolved. Hmm. _Well, _she mused, _she would just have to be more effective next time_…

A few mintues later Iruka-sensei announced the creation of the only four-man team and whispers erupted in the room. Sweeping a glance around her, Reimei took in Naruto's slightly confused yet accepting face, Sakura's wary, agnostic expression and Sasuke's haughty, indifferent demeanour. As the anticipation and excitement bubbled underneath her skin, she wondered vaguely what she looked like…

* * *

Sakura slumped down on the on the bench as she watched the love of her life walk away. _You're annoying. _The words echoed repeatedly in her mind and even Inner Sakura, as she had dubbed the rather outspoken voice in her head, was quiet.

_Did Naruto feel like this too? "_Maybe next time I can be a little nicer to him". She whispered to herself, sighing.

"Sakura-san?" The voice came from right beside her and it made Sakura look up, startled. It was Reimei. The fourth member of Team 7. Instantly,Sakura was defensive. This girl might be a threat to her in the competition for Sasuke-kun's love.

"What are you doing here? I didn't hear you." She snapped out, eyes narrowing in a focused glare.

Reimei laughed and put her hands up, palms facing Sakura in a blame resolving gesture.

"Calm down Sakura-san. Sasuke's all yours. I have no interest in him." Sakura stared incredulously. It hadn't occurred to her that this girl might not want Sasuke-kun. She hadn't ever known any female who didn't. Before she could open her mouth to express her disbelieving indignation, Reimeispoke up again.

"I just wanted to introduce myself properly. We're on the same team, and we're going to be spending a lot of time together… so I was wondering if you wanted to be friends?" She smiled a wide, open, _friendly_ smile.

It took a moment for Sakura to fully process the words. And when she did, she could only stare at Reimei's outstretched hand, like an idiot. Sakura hadn't had a real friend in years. Her rivalry with Ino could hardly be called a friendship. And so much of her energy was consumed by all things Sasuke that she never focused on the fact that she was actually lonely other times. But Sakura had no idea what this would mean. She didn't know anything about Reimei. Infact, she didn't even have the slightest impression of who or what the girl was like. Huh. Had she truly become she so obsessed with Sasuke that she had stopped paying attention to the rest of the world? Sakura remembered how she had brushed off her parents that morning in her rush to get to school so she could get the seat next to Sasuke.

Suddenly aware that she had been staring blatantly at Reimei for more than just a few moments, Sakura blinked rapidly and smiled tentatively. She extended her own hand.

"Okay. It would be nice… to have a friend. And we'll be the only girls on a team with three other males. We should stick together." Reimei's face registered minute surprise, but as they shook hands she smiled warmly at Sakura.

"Lunch is almost over. We should get going Sakura-chan. We don't want to be late." Reimei said with an oddly amused look on her face, her eyes glancing towards the trees by the Academy wall.

"Um, sure." Sakura replied, squashing her curiosity for the moment. They turned back to the Academy.

**_It's time to meet our jounin-sensei and show him what an amazing kunoichi you are!_** Inner Sakura proclaimed enthusiastically.

Reimei grinned at Sakura as if she could read her thoughts

It was truly the start of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

Not a single person in Konoha would deny that Kakashi Hatake was a lazy man. Most also knew that she was dangerous an capable, was addicted to reading porn in public, possessed a sharingan, was incredibly intelligent and had to be one of the greatest shinobi that Konoha had ever produced. Ofcourse, not many knew anything beyond lazy and dangerous. Kakashi was above all mysterious and enigmatic. He worked rather hard to convey that image to the world.

Currently, he was perched in a tree right outside a certain Academy classroom, alternately reading his beloved orange book and observing the four cute students that had recently been assigned to him through the window, while they waited for their jounin-sensei. Kakashi had taken on several genin teams before and had failed them all. But some strange instinct was telling him that this team might be different. The members of this particular team seemed to be special. And he knew better than to ignore instinct. It had saved his life on several occasions.

First there was Uchiha Sasuke. Last of his clan, talented in the extreme, socially and emotionally stunted with documented signs of an enormous revenge complex. Kakashi sighed. That right there was a whole bucket of troublesome. Uchiha would have to be watched carefully.

And then there was Haruno Sakura, whose family had only been civilian's for two generations. Though he doubted _she _knew that. She was known for her perfect chakra-control, her intelligence and her aggressive personality. And occasional bursts of super strength. But right now, she was only an obsessed fan-girl. Kakashi sighed again. The pink haired girl was talking animatedly with the other girl on team while trying to keep her gaze fixed longingly at the Uchiha.

Reimei. The second girl on the unusual four-man team. The girl's file was classified, so Kakashi knew next to nothing about her except that she had arrived in the village with a relative just a few days ago and that she had tied for first place in the Genin exam with Sasuke. Her abrupt inclusion into his Team had been a non-negotiable order from the Hokage, Kakashi knew a mystery when he saw one. And he was fully committed to solving this one.

And last but quite certainly not least, Uzumaki Naruto. Dead last, Kyuubi jinchuuriki, son of the fourth Hokage, son of his beloved sensei and Kushina-sama, godson of Jiraiya of the Sanin and Kakashi's veritable younger brother. Naruto already had more chakra than all of them put together. And it was likely that his capacity would only grow as he got older. Kakashi shifted slightly, not wanting to give in to the complex mess of emotions he always experienced when he thought about Naruto. Pushing the weak moment aside, he continued to observe his team.

It was finally sinking in that he would have to actually teach these kids. Something he had never actually done before. Doubts about his teaching abilities rose sharply in him. But he didn't have the novelty to fail. He was solely responsible for their survival for the next few years.

Kakashi sighed for the third time.

The four were beginning to get more than a little impatient. Naruto was setting up a trap for him. Sakura was scolding him while actually revelling in the rebelliousness of the prank. Sasuke was sitting to the side, indifferent to it all, except for the annoyed tick above his eye.

Kakashi turned a page of his book. _Wow. _He would never stop being amazed at Reika-chan's flexibility, he mused absently.

Hmm. It seemed as if Reimei could sense his presence. Her eyes were boring straight into his own through the window as if the intricate layers of mid-level stealth techniques that he had applied before settling down in the tree did not exist at all.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in surprise. No genin, no matter how talented, should have been able to… Interesting. That wide brown gaze. Kakashi frowned. Something about her was very familiar. It skirted the edge of his mind. But he couldn't figure it out.

Well, he'd made them wait long enough. With a silent, poof-free sunshin, he appeared outside their classroom.

It was time to officially meet Team 7.

* * *

Reimei stared at the spot where Kakashi had disappeared with increasing amusement. Glancing around at the other three, she immediately remembered her objective.

"Would you guys like to go and get some ramen together?"

"Sure Mei-chan! I never say no to ramen." Naruto beamed.

Sakura was looking as Sasuke with longing, hopeful expression. Reimei turned to him, cocking a questioning eyebrow.

He flicked them one disinterested glance and walked away. "I don't like to waste my time."

Taking in Sakura's crestfallen expression, Reimei stepped forward. "Sasuke-san, wait." It was important for Sasuke to understand that he wasn't alone. What better time to get started than now?

Sasuke turned back halfway, curious despite himself. "Hn. What?" He ground out keeping his face cold and indifferent.

Reimei let out an inconspicuous breath, hoping this would go well. "Would you like to spar?"

"Hn. None of you could possibly defeat me." He started to walk away again. He really was an irritatingly arrogant ass wasn't he? Her skill level was way above his. She could beat his face into the ground if she wanted to.

"How about two on one? And isn't training against an opponent a better way to challenge yourself and get better than training alone?" She watched Sasuke stop in his tracks and smirked mentally. Gotcha.

Reimei couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face as Sasuke turned around fully, crossed his arms over his chest and fixed a 'come at me' expression on his face.

"Why don't we move onto the Academy training ground?" As they followed her off the roof, Reimei caught the flash of charka that accompanied them and grinned. Kakashi was still around.

As they reached the training ground, Reimei announced that Naruto and Sakura would face off against Sasuke first, who only scoffed and waited.

Naruto was bouncing on his feet already, calling out threats and challenges in his loud, growly voice, while Sakura was fidgeting nervously, obviously uncertain.

Reimei pulled them both into a huddle. "Okay listen up guys. Two people will always be stronger than one. So you guys have to work together in this okay?" They nodded at her. "Naruto-kun, don't rush in immediately, Sasuke is better than you right now, so you have to be smart. Work out a good strategy and you can win this one." Naruto nodded at her again, the enthusiasm in his face making her smile affectionately at him. "Sakura-chan, don't be nervous, Sasuke respects strength, what better way to impress him than beat him a spar? Be confident, use what you know to it its full extent. I have faith in you guys. We have to show that bastard that all together we can be a really, really awesome team, okay?" They grinned at her.

She walked backwards to stand by a tree and watched them whispering together for a few moments. Sasuke looked bored and ready to leave.

She hoped with all her heart that he could find some happiness in his life and she wanted to help him do that. She wanted to help all of them. But something had changed now. It wasn't just their future now. It was hers too. And she would try that much harder to make sure that it was a good one.

"We're ready Mei-chan!" Naruto called out. "Get ready to be crushed teme!"

Sasuke merely scoffed for what felt like the fifth time and brought his arms down by his sides. Naruto and Sakura faced him, one jumping out of his skin with excitement and one with steely determination written all over her face and in her coiled fists.

Reimei grinned, her eyes alight with happiness and unbearable excitement.

"On three. One…Two….THREE. GO!"

* * *

AN- And there we go. Reviews help me write faster! The next chapter should be up within 10 days. (:


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